Washington Football Team: JK Dobbins injury validates Ron Rivera’s decision to rest starters

The final week of the preseason is meant for providing clarity in terms of who should make the 53-man roster. In some cases, teams use it to give their starters one last chance to shake off the offseason rust.

Unfortunately for the Baltimore Ravens, the executive decision to give their first-team offense the opening drive against the Washington Football Team on Saturday cost them one of their most important offensive players.

Early in the first quarter, JK Dobbins went down with an apparent knee injury after getting sandwiched between two defenders on a tackle.

The second-year running back couldn’t put any pressure on his left leg and was carted off the field.

It was a heart-stopping moment for everybody watching, including Washington fans, who watched second- and third-stringers lose in blowout fashion.

While our hearts break for Dobbins, his injury validates Ron Rivera’s decision to rest his starters in the final regular season tune-up.

JK Dobbins’ injury unfortunately makes Football Team head coach Ron Rivera look smart for resting his starters.

Here’s what Rivera told reports in explaining his decision to rest his starters.

"“Not to get anybody hurt. It was something we decided on a few days ago. We didn’t want to get anybody hurt. We had a big camp, it’s been successful, and a lot of guys worked. A lot of people we feel really comfortable and confident in who they are for us. We just felt exposing is not the thing to do, so we didn’t expose them.”"

Was Dobbins’ injury a freak accident? Probably. If you watch the replay back, it’s difficult to pinpoint how exactly he suffered the injury. However, like Rivera said, that’s precisely why you don’t expose your best players in a meaningless game.

Dobbins is the Ravens’ workhorse back. He’s coming off a rookie year in which he totaled 805 rushing yards (third among rookies behind Jonathan Taylor and James Robinson) and nine touchdowns (also third among rookies).

The Ohio State product also ranked first among qualified RBs by racking up 6.0 yards per carry. All signs pointed to Dobbins ascending up the ranks at the position in Year 2. He won’t get that opportunity now, as MRI results confirmed the former Buckeye tore his ACL and will miss the entirety of the 2021 season.

We get the rationale behind keeping your stars fresh. We also get that players suffer devastating injuries in training camp all the time. However, you’d be hard-pressed to deny that Rivera looks like a genius for resting Antonio Gibson Terry McLaurin, Logan Thomas, the entire offensive line and first-team defense.

Could you imagine the uproar among fans and the media if one of those studs suffered a season-ending injury in a meaningless game?

We wish Dobbins a speedy recovery and hopes he comes back stronger than ever after surgery and rehab. At the same time, we have to give the Football Team head coach credit for making an obvious decision look brilliant.

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